About James Baldwin

Born in 1924 in Harlem, James Arthur Baldwin quickly exhibited literary talent. He spent much of his youth visiting libraries, and by Junior High he was writing for school newspapers. At fourteen he became a preacher, but by seventeen had become disillusioned with Christianity. He left home at eighteen, eventually settling in Greenwich Village, where among fellow artists and writers he began to write his first novel. In Greenwich Baldwin met the author Richard Wright, who helped Baldwin to secure a fellowship and thus his career. Around this time Baldwin began to more deeply understand his identity as a gay Black man.

Baldwin left America for France in 1949, from where he would publish his first book, Go Tell It on the Mountain. Although he would return to New York, Baldwin travelled throughout Europe and spent a decade living in Turkey. Baldwin’s works explored core identity topics including masculinity, race, class and sexuality. His novels and plays often featured the struggles of gay and African-American characters. His novel Giovanni’s Room was considered controversial for its exploration of homosexuality, and was a foundational work in the Gay Liberation Movement. His essay collection The Fire Next Time was a similarly groundbreaking commentary on social and systemic racism in America, as were books such as If Beale Street Could Talk and No Name in the Streets.

In later years Baldwin settled in the French town of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, where he continued to live and write until his death in 1987, at the age of 63.

Sources

James Baldwin Biography, PBS American Masters , November 29, 2006

James Baldwin 1924 - 1987, Poetry Foundation